My Favorite Editing Apps

If you follow along with my Instagram…which is most of my readers…you know I recently decided to change my feed from dark editing to light editing with more colors. I figured it was time for a change and I’m super excited about it. I wanted to focus more on a “loose aesthetic” and image quality! However, I have received so many questions about the apps I use to edit my pictures so I did a poll on my Instagram story to see if anyone would be interested in this blog post and it won by 89% so here we are!

My favorite photo editing apps for Instagram:

VSCO

This used to be my favorite editing app ever and was the first one I ever downloaded. This app is free but I do recommend purchasing some of the filter packs. When I was focusing more on a dark theme, I used SE3. I really like the A, S, and E series. You can create an editing “recipe” so it applies the same effects to every photo! This saved me a lot of time!

2. Snapseed

I really like the “selective” tool. You can select certain areas in the photo to brighten/darken or saturation/de-saturation…which is really helpful at times! Especially when you have a shadow on your face or a distracting color and want to brighten up one part but not the entire photo. I also like the “portrait” tool because you can spotlight your face, smooth your skin, and make your eyes pop.

3. Adobe Lightroom Mobile

This is my go-to app right now. I have Lightroom on my laptop, but it’s very helpful having it on my phone so when I’m out and about I can take a picture, edit, and post it right then! I adjust the saturation, hue and luminance for specific colors depending on what I want to stand out. You can create presets in this app which help you have the same edits/look in every photo.

4. UNUM

This app is for planning your Instagram feed. I have heard of some other apps like this, but I love that this one is free and easy to navigate. You can upload your photos here to see if they fit your Instagram feed and move them around like a puzzle until you like the way your feed looks.

5. 8mm

Ever wonder how people make their videos look vintage? This is how! I absolutely love this app and use it at least twice a week. I have a highlight on my Insta page called “Shoot” and all the videos are taken on this app. I usually use the “Two-Color” or “70S” edit.

6. Unfold

This app is super popular right now on Instagram stories and I’m all for it. I use this app to create stunning layouts for my stories. They offer free templates as well as templates you can purchase. Below I have some “before and after” examples using this app.

If you are looking for your photos to look cohesive, I suggest you find 3 filters that fit together and use those every time. My best advice is to edit your pictures the way YOU like them and a way to fit YOUR life. Darken, lighten, contrast, grainy or smooth, do whatever you like and not something to fit in.

I do plan on releasing a step by step of how I edit my photos in the future but as of right now, I’m kind of keeping the exact editing to myself and perfecting my style. If you ever have any questions, please ask! 🙂